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Socio-spatial Stigma and Segregation


A Balmiki Colony in Central Delhi

Sriti Ganguly

S
Caste-based spatial segregation, largely assumed to be a cholars in the West have argued that sociology’s concern
characteristic of rural societies, is reproduced in urban with social stratification about “who gets what and why”
should be extended to include and address the question
spaces as well, and a large population of Dalits continue
of “where” (Tickamyer et al 2007). This attempt to “spatialise
to inhabit segregated settlements in the metropolitan inequalities” and the question of “where” takes us back to
cities of the country. Fieldwork conducted in one such some of the ideas articulated by B R Ambedkar and M K Gandhi
segregated neighbourhood of Balmikis in central Delhi is during the nationalist struggle for Indian independence.
Interestingly, one of the debates around the ideal course of
drawn upon to explore how they perceive the urban
development for India after independence,1 including the
space and how they think they are perceived by others. emancipation of the marginalised groups such as Dalits,2 gives
us some insight into how space reflects social inequalities and
maintains hierarchies. “Gandhi believed that even though
Indians could achieve political freedom by overthrowing the
colonial administration, it was only through the revival of
village communities that real swaraj or self-rule could be
achieved” (Jodhka 2002: 3346). On the contrary, for Ambedkar,
the same village community and its socio-spatial organisation
“played a critical role in the perpetuation and evanescence3 of
untouchability” (Cháirez-Garza 2014: 37).
In the words of Ambedkar: “Every Hindu village has a ghetto.
The Hindus live in the village and the untouchables live in the
ghetto” (qtd in Jodhka 2002: 3350). The separation was not a
mere spatial one but also revealed the concentration of basic
public resources. A socio-spatial division of this nature continues to
the present day (Ram 2016; Still 2011).4 Therefore, while Gandhi
saw the city as parasitically impoverishing the villages and advo-
cated the village model of development, to Ambedkar, the city, “a
bigger and more crowded setting,” was where he saw the promise
of advancement for Dalits and their liberation from the stigma of
untouchability (Cháirez-Garza 2014: 37). One finds such percep-
tions and hopes about the cities in popular imagination too.

Cities and Segregation


The common sense notion prevailing in contemporary Indian
society today is that ascribed identities of caste and religion do
not influence the social relations, interactions, and life chances in
urban spaces. Cities are seen as representative of modern–secular
and cosmopolitan values where people speak the language of
The author is immensely indebted to her research supervisor S Srinivasa rationality and meritocracy. The urban sociologist, Louis Wirth
Rao for his ideas and insights that helped in developing this paper. (1938: 2), called “the growth of cities and the urbanisation of the
She is also thankful to the respondents of the study as without their world one of the most impressive facts of modern times,” which
contribution this paper would not have been possible.
has “wrought profound changes in virtually every phase of social
Sriti Ganguly (sriti67ganguly@gmail.com) is a research scholar in life.” However, while Wirth urged the sociologists to “study the
Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, School of Social Sciences, differences between the rural and the urban modes of living,” at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
the same time he cautioned that “since the city is the product of
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growth rather than of instantaneous creation, Figure 1: District-wise Scheduled Caste Population of Delhi
it is to be expected that the influences which it NCT of Delhi Scheduled Caste Population 2011 (Sub-districts)
Percentage of Scheduled Caste
exerts upon the modes of life should not be able population to total population
to wipe out completely the previously dominant 40.1 and above
modes of human association” (Wirth 1938: 2–3). 30.1–400
Therefore, while it may be true that the degree 20.1–300

of caste-based discrimination and exclusion in 10.1–200 (NCT of Delhi 16.8)


10.0 and above
the cities is less intense than rural areas, there
are several studies that have shown how caste
continues to manifest in different, often dis-
guised, forms in everyday lives, and even in
modern institutional spaces of education and
employment (Jodhka and Newman 2007; Patel
2014; Ramaswamy 1985; Rao 2013). Similarly,
caste-based spatial segregation, assumed to be a
characteristic of rural societies, is reproduced in
the urban spaces as well, and a large population
of Dalits continue to inhabit segregated settle-
ments in the metropolitan cities of the country
(Sidhwani 2015). Vithayathil and Singh (2012:
64) through their study on residential patterns in
seven cities of India corroborate this view:
“Caste has historically shaped the organisation
of residential space, especially at the village level,
Source: GoI (2011b).
and it appears to continue to do so in contempo-
rary urban India.” Studies conducted on the status of Dalits in (SCs) in Delhi and together they constitute 16.7% of the total
cities like Delhi and Mumbai have revealed that this community population of the city. More than 90% of the SCs reside in the
continues to live in segregated settlements (Dupont 2004; urban areas (GoI 2011a). When compared with the population
Kamble 2002; Vivek 2000). Additionally, spatially segregated of the district, the above-mentioned report shows that New Delhi
spaces, labelled by caste names, increase the possibility of and central Delhi have the highest concentration of SCs (40%
stigmatisation, reinforcing the stigma already attached to their and above) in the areas of Karol Bagh, followed by Paharganj
caste and occupation, and, thus, both the processes create and and Seemapuri in north-east Delhi (Figure 1). Punjabi Bagh in
reinforce each other. west Delhi also shows a high concentration. Interestingly, areas
In Delhi and elsewhere, many Dalit settlements are officially in the central region with a high concentration of SCs are sur-
listed as Harijan bastis (colonies), and some colonies are named rounded by some of the most affluent neighbourhoods of the
after specific groups such as Balmiki colony, Bhangipada chawl, city like Chanakyapuri, an area where diplomats reside.
Jatav/Kumhar mohalla (colony), etc (Dupont 2004; Vivek 2000). The Census of India (GoI 2011c), which gives the population of
Dupont (2004: 163), based on her study in Delhi, writes that each individual SC group, classifies the sweeping/scavenging
these bastis are “still an urban reality that testifies the persis- community in the National Capital Territory of Delhi under three
tence of social ostracism manifested in residential segregation.” categories: Bhangi (11,665 persons), Chohra/Sweeper (1,638 per-
This paper draws upon the fieldwork conducted in one such sons) and Chuhra/Balmiki (5,77,281 persons).6 If the popula-
segregated neighbourhood in central Delhi with a predomi- tion of the above three groups is taken together, it adds up to
nant population of Balmikis,5 one of the most marginalised 5,90,584 and is the second highest SC group after the Chamars
and stigmatised groups. The paper provides a succinct over- (10,75,569) in the city. When we look at the district-wise
view of the spatial concentration of the Dalits in general and Table 1: Population Distribution of Scheduled Castes and Balmikis in Delhi City
Balmikis in particular in Delhi based upon secondary resources District Percent of SCs District-wise Percent of Balmikis Percent of Balmikis
like census figures, maps and a small mapping exercise under- to the Total District Distribution of to the Total to the SC Population
Population Balmikis District Population of the District
taken by the researcher. It also delves into the views and expe- North-west 19.1 24.6 4.0 20.8
riences of Balmikis living in a small segregated settlement in South 15.5 19.6 4.2 27.4
central Delhi, a completely urban district as per the census. South-west 13.9 14.3 3.7 26.5
East 16.5 12.1 4.2 25.3
Residential Settlement Patterns of Balmikis in Delhi West 14.8 11.1 2.6 17.5
North-east 16.7 7.3 1.9 11.5
Since caste-based segregated spaces—particularly spaces occu-
North 18.7 4.7 3.1 16.7
pied by Dalits in Delhi—is the focus, it is important to discuss Central 24.6 3.6 3.6 14.7
briefly about how Dalits are spatially concentrated in the city. New Delhi 23.4 2.8 11.5 49.2
According to the 2011 Census data, there are 36 Scheduled Castes Source: GoI (2011a, 2011c).

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distribution (Table 1, p 51) of Balmikis, north-west Delhi has situated. In addition to this mapping exercise, some other sec-
the highest percentage (24.6%), followed by south (19.6%) and ondary data sources were used to identify and list Balmiki set-
south-west Delhi (14.3%). When we compare their presence in tlements in other parts of the city, and these sources include lists
each district with the population of scs in the district, New available on the official websites of the Municipal Corporation
Delhi has the highest concentration (49.2%), followed by of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board
south (27.4%) and south-west Delhi (26.5%). (DUSIB). Constituency-wise electoral lists available on the offi-
Sharma (1995) pointed out that the Balmikis are largely con- cial website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi were the most
centrated in the squatters, slums and resettlement colonies in useful in situating the mohallas/bastis in rural parts of Delhi. As
Delhi, which itself is an indicator of their socio-economic condi- a part of the mapping exercise, the following areas were identified
tions. Sharma (1995) identified that in the walled city they are under each zone where Balmikis are concentrated (Table 2).
concentrated in Sadar, Paharganj and City zones,7 and in parts Ranjeet Nagar and Pandav Nagar are resettlement colonies,
of Karol Bagh and Kashmere Gate (p 41). Balmikis in the walled established during the resettlement drive of the mid-1970s,
city area live in katras8 like Katra Machheran, Kucha Pati Ram, where the resettled population were allotted 25 square yard plots
Kucha Chelan, Suiwalan, Farash Khana, Rang Mahal, and outside by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). In Ranjeet Nagar,
the walled city they inhabit areas such as Nabi Karim, Pahari interestingly, each block is dominated by a particular caste,
Dheeraj, Teliwara, Paharganj, Sadar Bazar, Chuna Mandi (Sharma mostly Dalits. What is interesting and worth noting is that the
1995: 43). They are also concentrated in parts of Shahdara and residents knew the caste identities of their neighbours, and
are possibly those who were displaced from central Delhi and blocks were identified by the caste that dominated them. Behind
resettled in the newly developed resettlement colonies. these authorised houses, there is a large population, including
A small mapping exercise was also attempted by the researcher Balmikis, who stay in squatter settlements. As Datta (2012: 10)
with the help of two social workers from a non-governmental points out, “the coming up of squatter settlements or JJ [jhuggi-
organisation (NGO) campaigning against manual scavenging and jhopri] clusters within and around resettlement colonies is a
fighting for the rights of scavengers across the country.9 Since common phenomenon in Delhi and other Indian cities.”
the social workers had been active in Delhi for quite some time, Again, in the north Shahdara zone, Nand Nagari, Sundar
they were already familiar with certain areas in central and Nagari, Seemapuri are resettlement colonies, established in the
north-east district of the capital where Balmiki settlements are mid-1970s, and follow a similar pattern of block-wise segregation
Table 2: Balmiki Settlements Identified in Four Different Zones of Delhi of population. Each block is dominated by a particular caste.
Zone Areas Identified Balmikis are also concentrated in the MCD or New Delhi Municipal
Karol Bagh Block B, Pandav Nagar; E and C Block, Ranjeet Nagar; 10/A Sau Corporation (NDMC) flats allotted by the corporation; for example,
Quarters, Sat Nagar; Sadhuramkigali, JJ cluster near Kirti
Nagar Railway track the NDMC flats that are located in Valmiki Sadan Marg in central
Civil Lines E Block Jahangirpuri Delhi, New Usmanpur in Shahdara, and Timarpur in Civil Lines.
City zone Quila Kadam Shariff, near Balmiki Mandir, Nabi Karim; Near The settlement in Mandir Marg assumed historical significance
Balmiki temple Chowpal, Sita Ram Bazaar
when Gandhi made it his temporary abode in 1946 (Prashad
Shahdara north New Seemapuri, C and E Blocks, Nand Nagari; L and K Blocks,
Sundar Nagari; Ghonda; Usmanpur 2000). In the past few years, this settlement has been visited
Source: Mapping exercise undertaken by the author. by political parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and
Table 3: List of Balmiki Settlements in Assembly Constituencies of Delhi
the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who
Assembly Constituencies Balmiki Settlements began their election campaign from
Narela (north-west Delhi) Villages such as Sanoth, Singhola, Pana Udyan, Mamurpur, Bankner, Shahpur this area. This also speaks volumes
Garhi, Khampur, Hamidpur, Bakoli, Ali pur, Holambi Kalan, Palla,
about how important this vote base
Sngarpur, Khera Kalan, Hiranki
Bawana (north-west Delhi) Villages of Auchandi, Darya Pur Kalan, Bawana, Barwala is for the politicians in Delhi.
Karawal Nagar (north-east Delhi) Balmiki basti, Tukmirpur Extension A list of localities in assembly consti-
Gokalpur (north-east Delhi) C Block, Balmiki mohalla tuencies available on the Chief Elec-
Rohtas Nagar (north-east Delhi) Balmiki mohalla (Rehman building) West Rohtas Nagar; Balmiki basti (JJ colony) toral Officer, Delhi’s website (Table 3)
East Rohtas Nagar
shows the presence of a large number
Krishna Nagar (east Delhi) Balmiki basti, Rashid market
Patparganj (east Delhi) Balmiki Gali, Mandawali village of segregated Balmiki mohallas and
Kondli (east Delhi) Balmiki basti, Dallupura village bastis in Delhi.10 The Narela assembly
Tuglakabad (south Delhi) Balmiki mohalla, Tehkhand village; Balmiki mohalla, Tughlakabad village constituency has over 20 mohallas
Matiala (west Delhi) Balmiki mohallas in KanganHeri, Badusarai village, Jhatikra village, ShikarPur village and galis (lanes) inhabited by Balmikis.
Najafgarh (west Delhi) Balmiki Panna, Mitraon village; Balmiki Vihar, Palam
It is also an area with the highest rural
Bijwasan (south Delhi) Balmiki mohalla, Shah Bad, Mohmadpur; New Balmiki basti, Bijwasan village;
old Balmiki mohalla, Bijwasan Village; Balmiki mohalla, MahipalPur village population. Apart from this, over 50
Jangpura (east Delhi) Balmiki basti, Vikram Nagar, Jung Pura settlements listed as Harijan mohallas/
RK Puram (New Delhi) Balmiki mohalla, Vasant Vihar; Balmiki mohalla, Munirka village bastis and Ambedkar colonies are
Chattarpur (south Delhi) Balmiki mohalla, Maidan Garhi; Balmiki basti, Asola spread all over the city. As the names
Mundka (north-west Delhi) Balmiki basti, Village Karala; Harijan Balmiki mohalla, Village NizamPur
suggest, these are also inhabited
Rithala (north-west) Balmiki Mandir, MCD Flats, Rohini Sector-1
Badli (north-west) Balmiki mohalla, Badli village largely by the Dalits. Other than this,
Source: Official Website of Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi. the DUSIB’s website provides the
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names and location of the Balmiki JJ (hutments) clusters spread terms of housing quality, occupations, and incomes. In the pre-
across the city.11 sent generation of working men (25 to 39), one notices a diver-
What Ambedkar termed as Dalit ghettos on village periph- sification of occupations. A majority of men in this age group
eries are spread across the city, which also prompts us to think are engaged in jobs in the informal sector as drivers, mobile
whether rural and urban can be seen as two contrasting spaces technicians, and shop assistants, which indicates a shift from
or evaluated through the simplistic binary of traditional and the traditional sanitation jobs. However, these are highly irre-
modern. While spatial segregation continues to persist in cities, it gular and low-paying in nature as compared to a permanent
is important to explore if the urban space has altered the social job in the municipal corporation. Though most of these mu-
relations and interactions between different groups. In order nicipal jobs fall into the low grade category (Grade IV), these
to do so, we tried to explore how Balmikis in one such neigh- come with certain employee friendly benefits and a sense of
bourhood perceive themselves vis-à-vis the city. Do they see it security according to the respondents.
as an emancipatory space where the stigma attached to their In the age group of 40 and above, a majority of men in the
identity has diminished or disappeared? Do they see the city sample were involved in sanitation-related jobs as sweepers,
as a space with equal opportunities, and feel that they are treated supervisors and sanitary inspectors in municipal bodies. The
equally in all spheres of education and employment? We rely kind of shifts and diversity present in the case of men is, how-
on Goffman’s (1986) definition of stigma as a “deeply discredit- ever, absent when it comes to Balmiki women who continue to
ing attribute,” in this case a tribal one, which is passed from be largely engaged either as sweepers or domestic workers,
one generation to another that not only has the potential to providing services in the surrounding neighbourhoods.
reduce an individual’s life chances but also causes a deep sense The groups that live in the neighbouring localities include
of humiliation, anxiety and anguish. other Dalits such as Regars, Kumhars, Jatavs, Saansis, and
Khatiks, and the spatial location of each community is more or
Balmiki Colony in Central Delhi less known, giving us a sense of the caste-based character of
Amidst a well-known commercial area of central Delhi, is the entire area. One also gets a sense of the local usage of the
located a small, low-income neighbourhood of Balmikis. term “caste” that prevails in the everyday discourse from the
According to the respondents of the study as well as secondary conversation with the residents of Balmiki colony. For exam-
sources, this was established as a residential colony by the ple, when they were asked if the entire colony was inhabited
British for their sweepers in 1946 (Karlekar 1982; Sharma only by Balmikis or whether it was a multi-caste settlement,
1995). In the reminiscences of the second and first generation their usual response was that in the present time “other castes
settlers, it is remembered as “Angrezon ki basai hui colony” such as Bengalis and Madrasis have also arrived.” Punjabi- and
(a colony settled by the British) even if the exact year of estab- Bengali-speaking persons were also categorised as “other castes”
lishment is not known to many residents. “This was set for the along with Regars, Khatiks, Kumhars, Chamars and Saansis.
ghulams [slaves] of British, those who provided cleaning and These neighbours were identified with their traditional occu-
sweeping service,” a sexagenarian resident recollected. What pations, irrespective of whether they still practice the same or
were established as single-room structures with a community not. Regars were introduced to the researcher as a group of
toilet, have today evolved into three-storeyed homes, almost leather workers from Rajasthan, Khatiks as butchers, and
all of them furnished with luxury amenities such as televisions Kumhars as those who were earlier potters but now carve idols
and refrigerators. As families multiplied, vertical expansion and of Hindu gods and goddesses. It is no surprise then, as we will
physical division of the original structures became common in see later, that Balmikis themselves continue to be associated
every house. The present-day inhabitants of this Balmiki colony with their traditionally assigned occupation.
have roots in villages of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and erstwhile
villages of Mehrauli, situated in south-west Delhi. Discrimination: A Matter of the Past?
A majority of families in the neighbourhood are related by To explore the idea of the city as a space that has the potential to
kinship ties. As one respondent said: “Yeh teen chaar ghar milake, liberate the socially and spatially segregated groups, the residents
saara humara parivaar hai” (members of these three-four hous- of Balmiki colony were asked to reflect on how they perceived
es combined are from our family). All the families surveyed had the city and how they thought they were perceived by the groups
their extended kin, including siblings, aunts, uncles, and cous- surrounding them. The majority were of the view that caste-
ins, living around either as close neighbours in the house beside based discrimination was a thing of the past and, more impor-
theirs in the same lane or another lane. This kind of family net- tantly, it does not occur in the cities. The responses to this question
work not only continues to provide comfort and support in about bhed-bhav (discrimination) were woven with binaries
times of adversity, as shared by older residents, but also helps in such as dehat (village)/sheher (city) and pehle (past)/aaj-kal
securing jobs, particularly in the municipal bodies. (nowadays) to denote differences of time and space.
While it is a predominantly Balmiki neighbourhood, some In Raja’s (age 27) opinion, “These things happen mostly in
migrants/members from Bengal and Bihar have also moved in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. Only Delhi is one place
as tenants, living in the portions sublet by the owners. Subletting where these things are not given importance because maybe it
acts as a good source of income for some families in the neigh- is a city. Everybody is equal here” (emphasis mine). This again
bourhood. Similarly, the space is heterogeneous and diverse in was perhaps spoken with an assumption that there is no
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element of rural or ruralness in metropolitan Delhi. Abhishek from wearing slippers and we can sit wherever we wish to. Perhaps one
(age 28) emphasised that discrimination happened in the past, or two people with such a thinking (gandi soch) are left in the country.
in his father’s and grandfather’s times. He firmly believed that In addition to this, both Mahesh Kumar and Shanti proudly
in a city like Delhi caste identities do not matter and, more referred to their well-maintained homes and the visible level
importantly, identity of an educated person can overshadow of cleanliness when they were asked to reflect upon their
ascribed identities. He said: experiences of caste and discrimination. What is interesting to
It used to happen in my father’s time [referring to his father’s child- note here is the immediate connection they drew between
hood]. Not even when we were growing up. Now we stay in Delhi and safai (cleanliness) of their homes and discrimination when
own property here. Nobody can say anything to us. Now our commu- they were asked if they face any in their everyday lives tells
nity has progressed a lot. People are educated. Somebody is a judge/
wakil [lawyer]. People from our community have also entered Delhi
us about their awareness of how the community has been
Police. Madam, when one becomes educated nobody sees his/her associated with dirt.
caste. If my child becomes a judge or a doctor, nobody will call him Second, while the first and immediate response was that
an SC. They will call him by his name. bhed-bhav (discrimination) no longer exists in the city, towards
Mahesh Kumar, a retired cashier from a nationalised bank, the end they both added that it may still exist in some forms.
shared that in 35 years of his banking career he never hid his caste This was typical of many other interviews where respondents
identity and even then he had not encountered any discrimina- initially said no to the persistence of discrimination, but later came
tion. He added, “Dehat mein rehna ka aur sheher mein rehne ka to acknowledge it, indicating that the overt forms which existed
bhohot farak hai” (there is a lot of difference between living in a earlier have been replaced by subtler ways and may have also taken
village and a city). The term “dehat” refers not only to physical newer disguises which become visible only upon reflection. It was
characteristics, but also a certain lifestyle of that place where caste- repeatedly emphasised by Pradeep Kumar that nothing is said
based physical and social segregation figures prominently. This upfront but the feeling (bhavna) is always present. The term he
is evident from the example he gave to substantiate his point: used for this subtle and covert feeling is “androoni,” which loosely
Take for example, the city of Delhi and the villages in it. There the life- translates into “internal” or “innermost” in English. His wife also
style is still the same. Consider for instance, Todapur village near Pusa supported his view: “Muh pe toh nai bolenge na, peeche toh
Institute. Once I went there to meet a friend and inquired a shopkeeper for bolte hain” (They will not say anything to our face, but they talk
directions to his house. The first thing he asked was my friend’s surname behind our backs). Tulsi Patel (2014) draws our attention to the
and caste because he said that is how it works there. There are segregated
bastis of Balmikis, Jats, Jatavs and Brahmins. There it is still like this. fact that in urbanised settings such as offices and educational
But we don’t have such a thing here [referring to his place of residence]. institutions disparaging remarks are often made “behind their
backs” primarily out of fear of legal action.12 Drawing upon
Disguised Prejudices Goffman, Patel (2014) calls this shift “stigma goes backstage.”
First and foremost, the above example indicates the presence of Prejudices could also be disguised in the form of remarks
rural within the urban and blurs the distinction bet ween the that reveal stereotypes about physical appearance and bodily
two. Delhi has about 135 urban villages (Govinda 2013), locat- disposition that positions an individual in a caste and class
ed both within the city as well as on the peripheries, and To- category. For example, Priya, perhaps the only woman from
dapur is also one of them. Govinda (2013: 2) urges us to see this neighbourhood to have become an advocate, recalled a
“how urban and rural are bound together and how modern and remark made by her non-Dalit friends who expressed surprise
traditional can be simultaneously present in cities.” Second, that “she doesn’t look like a Balmiki.” Similarly, the awareness
what is interesting is the contradiction apparent in the above of stigma that continues to be attached can be discerned from
response. Balmiki colony, where the respondent stays, has more the efforts made to dis-identifiy with one’s caste. This was evident
or less the same character, or in his words, “village-like” lifestyle, in the claims of Anitha, another Balmiki woman, that her
and this is evident from how certain colonies like Regarpura family’s lifestyle and disposition makes them different from
and others are identified by the caste of the residents. this caste or the reluctance of Mahesh Kumar to use caste
This kind of spatial ordering based on caste can be seen in certificates as it will expose or invite further labelling.
many parts of Delhi. As discussed earlier, regularised/unregu- The continued association of the community with sanitation-
larised slums and resettlement colonies in Nand Nagari and related jobs was also evident from some responses and points
Sundar Nagari in north-east Delhi, and Ranjeet Nagar in cen- towards the persistence of discrimination. When Prakash was
tral Delhi show division of clusters and blocks based on caste, asked to specify his parents’ occupation, his response was:
indicating that how it continues to be a mode of social and “Safai ke kaam mein. Balmiki ko aur kaunsa kaam milta hai”
spatial organisation in urban spaces as well. So, whether a city (Have a cleaning job. What other job can a Balmiki get?). This
provides absolute anonymity is contestable. particular response and the tone in which this remark was
Among female respondents, one domestic worker, Shanti, in made is markedly different from a similar response that the
her early 40s, shared that discrimination has diminished to a large researcher got from a domestic worker in her late 40s. When
extent in the country and it used to happen in the past (purana she was asked to specify her livelihood, she said: “Yehi jo kaam
zamana). She shared experiences from her own work place: hai humara, safai ka” (the cleaning job that we people do).
These days there is no discrimination. We go to work in households According to Prashad (2000), this link was in fact entrenched
(kothis). Nobody keeps separate utensils for us. We are not stopped when the Balmikis from Punjab migrated in the early 20th
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century to Delhi and were heavily recruited as sweepers by the it has always been known and spoken of as the colony of jama-
municipality, working on the caste–occupation stereotype. daars (sweepers/supervisors) despite the fact that considerable
While both the above statements have a tone of obviousness, diversification of occupations has taken place among the Balmiki
two different meanings clearly emerge from them. There is an residents of the colony, and the younger generation of men have
underlying sense of resentment in the first response and points been taking up non-traditional jobs in the informal sector.
towards the fact that this community has been traditionally However, this was not the only kind of stigma attached to
associated with this work, and it is difficult for Balmikis to find the neighbourhood. Along with the existing label of being a
alternative occupations. The second remark reflects a sense of colony of Bhangis or jamadaars, sporadic outbreak of brawls
helplessness rooted in one’s caste identity and the inescapability and disputes has also shaped its perception as an “unsafe”
of it. It also perhaps shows an acceptance of the community’s place and of its residents as prone to violence. According to
position as sweepers/scavengers arising out of sheer helplessness. Ashok, the proximity of one’s house to the Balmiki colony was
also a measure of safety and social status. Citing the example
Space and Stigmatised Associations of his own family members who were looking for a house in
Guru (2009: 212) writes: “The cultural construction of the human the area, Ashok explained that the closer one’s house is located
body into ‘mobile dirt’ is treated by the upper castes as a source to the colony, the more uncomfortable a person would be.
that creates a deep sense of nausea within the latter.” Just as the The Balmikis did not counter this dominant discourse and
group is stigmatised as a permanent carrier of dirt and disease, the image that prevails about their neighbourhood as being dan-
whole segregated space they inhabit or are relegated to sometimes gerous and themselves labelled their own community as “kattar”
symbolises the same and becomes a threat to the “clean” and “nor- (fanatic or strictly orthodox). When Asha was asked how peo-
mals” (used by Goffman to refer to the non-stigmatised). There- ple in the neighbouring localities perceive their colony she
fore, even spaces can evoke a sense of nausea or anxiety (Sibley said: “They do not dare to pick up fight with people living here.
1995). Such spaces, therefore, can become “stigma symbols” in a They say our people are very bad and prone to violence …
Goffmanian sense that is a sign which is “effective in drawing Balmiki community already has this thappa [stamp] of being
attention to a debasing identity discrepancy” (Goffman 1986: 45). fanatic and dangerous.” Another sexagenarian man claimed:
Officially, the neighbourhood is listed as a Balmiki colony. “People are scared of mistreating us (bhed-bhav). The people
When random inquiries were made about how the residents living around here fold their hands before us, share chai-paani
wrote their addresses, they shared that now most people do with us. Nobody practices untouchability (chu-achoot).” What
not write Balmiki colony on their nameplates nor mention it as is interesting to note here is that the sharing and respecting is
a part of their address. One female schoolteacher was of the not due to disappearance of the caste stigmas, rather it may be
view that many residents, particularly the newer, urbanised due to what the respondent concludes as “scare.”
generation, do not prefer to write Balmiki colony. She also The image that is projected here of the community by the
added that it is the political parties that continue to use this residents themselves is a departure from the descriptions one
label. By sheer coincidence, this was corroborated on the very finds in the available literature, where they largely come across
day when this interaction was taking place as there was a pre- as “victims.” While the researcher is at no point trying to challenge
election (2015 Delhi assembly elections) rally passing through that they are marginalised, humiliated, and subjected to inhu-
with campaigners hailing, “Balmiki basti, Zindabad.” man treatment, it is important to see how Balmikis in the cities
Prakash and his daughter resentfully shared that even after describe and project themselves. Is this a kind of assertion in itself?
so many years since it was set up, their neighbourhood contin- If yes, then is this assertion a response to the historical stigmati-
ues to be derogatorily identified as a colony of Bhangis. Chuhra sation and marginalisation they have suffered? Another pertinent
and Bhangi are some other names the community of sweep- question that can be raised here is whether this sense of strength
ers/scavengers are known by. However, both have strong neg- and assertion is tied with spatial proximity and collectivism.
ative connotations. The stigma attached to the terms are so Wacquant (2012) argues that while ghettoisation reinforces
intense that they are very often used as invectives in common the divide between those living inside and those outside, it stren-
parlance (Deshpande 2013). In July 2011, following a public in- gthens the internal unity of the ghettoised group. In the context
terest litigation filed by a social activist who objected to the of rural Punjab, Ram (2016) delves into how Dalit peripheries,
use of the word “Chuhra” with a “derogatory connotation” in particularly the exclusive Ravidas deras, were “sacralised.” From
caste certificates, the Delhi High Court directed the state gov- being stigmatised spaces of the landless, oppressed and segre-
ernment to discontinue its use in certificates (DNA 2011). The gated castes, they were transformed into sites of resistance and
use of the term “Balmiki” by the community is a claim to assertion of Dalit identity based on the spiritual teachings of
self-respect as well as to a higher descent. However, as we see, Sant Ravidas and political philosophy of Ambedkar. In the con-
these disparaging labels continue to be in use. Like Shruti, a text of urban Tamil Nadu, Gorringe (2006) points out that the
12-year-old resident, added that use of the word “Bhangi” was Dalit settlements or “modern day cheris” are being redefined and
part of hasin-mazak (jest) among her peers in school. transformed into sites of resistance by Dalit movement. Whether a
Ashok, a resident of a neighbouring colony, Regarpura, was similar trend can be discerned in the Balmiki or other Dalit set-
especially interviewed to get an insight into the outsider’s percep- tlements in Delhi, we need to explore further. Here we briefly
tions about the Balmiki colony. To Ashok, his family, and neighbours, delve into the motivations of Balmikis for staying together.
Economic & Political Weekly EPW DECEMBER 22, 2018 vol lIiI no 50 55
SPECIAL ARTICLE

In our study, two respondents put forth that Balmikis always themselves better off as compared to those living in lanes three
stay together. Raja tried to explain why this clustering takes place and two, where they believe the mahaul (environment) is worse.
and argued that Ambedkar urged the Dalits to stay organised and One 59-year-old respondent living in lane seven, who works in
together (ikhathe rehna). He further added: “Koi bhi chota samaj the MCD, made this distinction: “This side is okay. But the at-
ho woh hamesha ikhathe rehta hai” (Any small community al- mosphere in three, two or one is bad. Lane one is still okay be-
ways stays together). Here, the chota (small) can be interpreted cause there are some educated families of judges and lawyers.”
both as numerical minority as well as a vulnerable, non-domi- Sakshi from lane eight also supported this view: “People on this
nant, and marginalised minority. It may also be a symbol of the side are good. If you will go toward the backside, you will feel
geographic space and community living in Balmiki colony. In any you are in a different environment.” This differentiation seemed
case, clustering can arise from the need for security and solidarity. to be emerging on the basis of physical space and aesthetics.
In order to get some further insights to understand as to what The lanes that seemed to have cleaner, wider roads and better
extent this segregation might be voluntary or involuntary, we maintained houses lead the above respondents to perceive the
tried to explore the motivations of Balmikis to live in this neigh- residents on the “other side” as poorer. This may have also led
bourhood. A majority of respondents among the second and them to conclude that these poorer residents are less educated.
third generations said that they would like to move to a different Furthermore, a feeling of “us” and “them” was also evident
colony, but only if and when they have the financial capacity to from several respondents’ claims of maintaining a social dis-
do so. The locational advantage of the colony, arising from its tance and not mixing up with others in the neighbourhood. A
centralised location and its proximity to the sprawling commer- woman in her early 60s said:
cial area of Delhi, was another reason cited for staying there. People keep fighting here. We do stay here but we do not have these
However, even if too many respondents did not explicitly habits. Nor do we mix up with the people here. Our thinking is differ-
express the feeling of belongingness to a place where they have ent from theirs. Our children also do not go out. They have grown up
and studied in this place but they do not mingle with other children.13
their kith and kin, and members from the same caste as their
neighbours, the feeling is nevertheless present. For instance, Many parents like Varsha shared that children are kept
some respondents from the older generation opined that they indoors and not allowed to go outside so that they do not get
would like to remain in this colony as there is a sense of unity affected by the environment. She said: “One has to see the
and brotherhood even if the residents fight among themselves. society and here the society is a little … [pause] That is the
According to Mahesh Kumar, “In times of unhappiness or any deal. That is why everyone, not only us, wants to keep their
crisis, the residents take care of each other.” “The antipathy of children separate.”
the outside world thus provides a sense of unity in adversity On the other hand, Anitha not only distinguished her family
that can, in moments of crisis, override internal disputes and from the neighbours around her but Balmikis in general. When
quarrels to provide a sense of community” (Gorringe 2006: 52). she was asked if her caste identity or residential address has ever
Therefore, while the inability to afford a place anywhere mediated her interactions with other groups in the city, she said:
else in the city even when they want to move out shows the need We are totally different from the people over here even though we live
to escape from a stigmatised space and a desire to be inte- like this in the house. We don’t look like them. How did we become
grated, the sense of security and solidarity the space provides people of this caste? Yesterday also we went to a wedding where we
shows the extent of voluntary segregation. At the same time, we were looking completely different. So, people said how did you come
here … we were looking just like rich people.
do not overlook the fact that need for security may be arising
from the fear that they may not be accepted by the privileged For her, aspects like their hairstyles, attire and disposition
groups of the city. Gans (2008) has rightly argued that it is made them look, in her own words, “mod” [modern] and dis-
often difficult to draw a line between voluntary and involuntary tinguished them from others. While the remark that came from
segregation. In the case of Dalits and Muslims, along with an Priya’s peer group is an example of a caste-based stereotype,
internal force there are external societal forces, say in the form this an example of how some residents in the neighbourhood
of housing discrimination (Thorat et al 2015), that continue to in their attempts of mobility are also trying to dissociate from
push them toward segregated spaces. However, what is inter- perhaps a stigmatised identity by claiming distinction from
esting is that the attempt to understand the extent of voluntary other members of the community.
and involuntary has provided a glimpse of an element of segre-
gation within the segregated neighbourhood that exists on the Conclusions
lines of differentiated income, education, and lifestyles. What we see is that caste continues to be an important form of
organisation of space in urban India and continues to manifest
Segregation within Segregation in residential segregation. Caste-based mohallas and colonies
While the Balmiki colony may be homogeneous in terms of its are a testament to it, arising from overlapping factors such as a
caste composition, as mentioned before, differences exist on sense of security and group solidarity, inaffordability and
axes of income, education, livelihoods, and housing quality. In social prejudices, and exclusive clustering of privileged groups.
the imagination of many residents, certain areas or lanes with- Also, it is clear that rural and urban are not exclusive, opposite
in the colony are demarcated as bad or worse. For instance, the categories (what we perhaps see in Gandhi and Ambedkar’s
residents living in lanes eight, seven, and even six consider imagination), but are bound together, challenging several
56 DECEMBER 22, 2018 vol lIiI no 50 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
SPECIAL ARTICLE

notions we have about the villages and cities, and the nature of some instances came forth upon deeper reflection. The earlier
social relationships and interactions in these societies. overt forms of discrimination that existed in form of untoucha-
What this paper primarily attempts to highlight are the exp- bility, such as not sharing water and food, may have been re-
eriences of a community that has been historically marginalised placed by, say, the resentment toward reservations for Dalits,
by exploring how it perceives the city and how it thinks it is the inability to accept them as equals in offices and schools, or
perceived by others. Stigma persists as the Balmiki colony un- subtle comments about appearances and behaviour. Thus, con-
der study continues to be identified by the caste occupation trary to Ambedkar’s imagination, the city does not seem to
and a derogatory label. While several respondents initially have completely integrated the Dalits as yet, and liberated
denied the persistence of caste-based discrimination in cities, them from caste-based social stigma and segregation.

Notes 11 Available at the official website of Delhi Urban Economic & Political Weekly, Vol 37, No 32,
1 For more details, see Jodhka (2002). Shelter Improvement Board. pp 3343–53.
2 The term Dalit here refers to the former un- 12 See the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Jodhka, S S and K Newman (2007): “In the Name of
touchable castes in India. Used in 1928 for the (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Globalisation: Meritocracy, Productivity and
first time by B R Ambedkar, the term was popu- 13 This interaction took place on a day when the Hidden Language of Caste,” Economic &
larised by the Dalit Panthers of Maharashtra in respondents from two different families shared Political Weekly, Vol 42, No 41, pp 4125–32.
1970s, which broadened it to include other op- that there was a violent brawl happening in Kamble, R (2002): “Untouchability in the Urban
pressed groups such as women and tribes. The their lane a few moments before the researcher Setting: Everyday Social Experiences of Ex-
official term used is Scheduled Castes. went and knocked at their doors. Untouchables in Bombay,” Dalits and the State,
3 The word “evanescence” implies fading or di- Ghanshyam Shah (ed), New Delhi: Concept
minishing and is used in the context of un- Publishing Company.
touchability. Ambedkar saw the village as per-
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